32 | Cycling World
With the number three also on my mind , I descended to Bédoin swiftly , noting the steep sections I ' d have to tackle after lunch on my way back up .
My wife , Jackie , was poised with camera in hand at ‘ Kilometre Zero ’ on the outskirts of the small town . Phil ' s Pizza provided sustenance in abundance and again I lingered over my repast . This was mistake number two . After obtaining that second imprint on my Cinglés card I set off on my return ascent through the forest from Bédoin . I at once recalibrated my longheld opinion that the Malaucène climb was the harshest . Bédoin was steep and unrelentingly so - and therefore definitely the harder climb after all .
The Bédoin ascent is the public face of Ventoux . Famous for the dramatic backdrop it has so often given the Tour de France . And famous too , for the tragic death of Tom Simpson . There ' s no doubt it looks impressive , especially the last six kilometres after Chalet Reynard , where you ' re out of the trees , pedalling for the most part , in a straight line with the summit and its weather station prodding upwards like a cold-war-era Soviet rocket on the launch pad , always visible ahead of you . The last section of the Malaucène route however , with it ' s breathtaking hairpins , is equally stunning to look at .
My coffee stop at Chalet Reynard was surreal . It is a tiny ski station in the winter and with the temperature cooling outside it was easy to believe I was in skiing mode inside the café with its distinctly alpine feel . The punters however were decked out in Lycra shorts and cleated shoes rather than ski boots .
The road from Chalet Reynard to the top is the part of the ride which gives Ventoux its much-vaunted ' iconic ' status - the unforgiving , treeless , section of the mountain where the mistral takes no prisoners . People started stripping the mountain of timber in the 12th century , rendering it permanently ‘ bald ’ on top .
On the long haul up from Bédoin through the forest , some wag had painted a massive snail on the road on a particularly steep bend . Another wit had daubed the word ' fixie ', writ large , across the carriageway . I take my hat off to anyone with the guts and muscle power to tackle Ventoux on a single speed bike - just like the early Tour de France competitors used to ride . But it ' s not something I ' ll be trying in a hurry .
The weather was closing in with cloud covering the road ahead and sweeping off down the slopes to my left . At times visibility was reduced to just a few metres . I became aware of bells clanging off the road and saw a couple of shepherds up